SnoopyStyle Sam Dunn grew up as a Heavy Metal loving teenager in the 80s in Victoria, British Columbia. At university, he studies anthropology and research various cultures. He decides to do a documentary studying the unique culture of Heavy Metal music.This is a well thought out academic dissection of this subculture. It's informative and compelling. The subject may be too much for one movie. Some bands deserve a movie just for themselves. This is covering a whole genre of music over decades in many countries. It's also covering specific issues with this genre like sexuality, satanism, religion, censorship and women. The movie takes on a lot and generally does it well. It may be a good idea to concentrate on one point or one idea or one person. The genre is so big that the movie ends up feeling a bit scattered. It's an interesting introduction for non-fans and a defense of the genre from a die-hard fan.

Playbahnosh I surprisingly found this DVD hidden in dark and secluded section of a local DVD store, mostly reserved for B grade flicks, art and indie material. Me being a metal-head myself, was thrilled about watching a documentary that digs into the world's most controversial and "forbidden" style of music/art/life. The experience was a little odd.The first few seconds into the film, when the all familiar intro of Number of the Beast began, with the clips of metal-heads on screen, I shivered, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I felt something very rare, I felt "I'm at home, baby!" \m/ I won't go ramble on about the things everyone knows. Yes, this film is awesome. It has that rare atmosphere, that only a true metal-head could create, like Sam Dunn. If you are a true rocker, you'll feel in sync with the guy, you'll know what he is talking about and why, but if you aren't into metal, you'll have a hard time understanding some of the meaning.My biggest problem with this doc, is the same as the others: it's too superficial. For me, it's too much about satanism, gore and torching of churches. For me, metal is not about that. Metal is a form of expression, a way of life. I wanted to see more about metal from around the world.For an anthropologist, Dunn is far too concerned about the different styles of back and death metal, rather than reviewing metal as a phenomenon and culture around the world. He focuses on the US and Norway, but that is just a little piece of the big picture. What about the rest of Europe? What about eastern metal or other regions of the world? What about the other genres of metal? I wanted to hear more about the different genres, the history and pioneers of each of them...etc, how those evolved and transformed over the years, and who are the artists that made it happen.In a nutshell, it's too one-sided, too narrow perspective. I know it's only 90 minutes, but it could've been done. Okay, I'm maybe splitting hairs here. I agree, it's a decent documentary, and for such an (pardon the term) amateur team, it's a very good film about metal, but it left me with a nagging feeling of "something's missing", it's somehow not complete, and I guess that's what most people are feeling about this documentary. The interviews are very well done, but with the wrong people. I wanted to hear more big names, more name bands and real pioneers of metal. I know the film is very low-budget, and they probably couldn't pay for an interview with Ozzy, Lars, Joacim Cans or even Serj Tankian, but I really miss those bits from a documentary about metal. Other than that, its a pleasant experience, and I recommend it for every metal-head and non-metal-head out there.

dromasca This is a solid and interesting documentary which I would recommend to everybody who loves Metal but also to people who are not necessarily fans of the genre but have interest in music or underground culture.What makes this documentary likable and catches the attention is that it combines solid knowledge and research with a personal style. The author declares himself a fan, visits clubs and festival, travels to get interviews and adds his personal touch to the whole story which makes it likable and well documented at the same time.Sure, the fans of different genres and bands may always have complaints to enter because their favorite flavor of metal or their specific band did not get enough screen time or even omitted. I for example may have liked to hear more full acts of music and I am wondering why Gothic rock did not get some coverage. Yet, we find in the film both an historic thread that is well built, as well as a good coverage of specific subjects and messages like sex, death, violence, etc. that traverse the whole history and different styles in a consistent manner. This documentary if both informational and entertaining.

maz underscore Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is a subjective and interesting look at the many different facets of metal, both the sub-culture and the music.As we follow anthropologist and self proclaimed metal head, Sam Dunn on his journey through the world of metal we get an unusual insight into this widely misunderstood and intricate sub-culture.Dunn not only maps out and explains the origins of the huge number of different sub-genres within the genre of metal music (something that all music lovers have probably wondered about at one time or another), but he also travels to places like Germany and Norway in search of many different metal bands and their fans.There are interviews with everyone from Alice Cooper to Lemmy to Rob Zombie as well as some quite disturbing interviews with a few Norwegian Death Metal bands and a hilarious interview with the very funny Dee Snider from Twisted Sister.There is indeed quite a deep and interesting flow to this documentary and Dunn not only managers to maintain a subjective and professional roll in his research, but also managers to maintain his integrity as a metal head - this is indeed, a credit to him.I highly recommend this documentary not only to people who love their metal, but even to people who don't.